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Pichu Line/DPPt
Pichu and Pikachu can both only be found in the Trophy Garden in all three games. They are more likely to be encountered if a Pokémon with Static is leading the team. The mascot Pokémon is near-omnipresent in main series games, and Sinnoh games are no exception. Despite the relatively low encounter rate of Water-types in boss battles, having an Electric-type on one's team tends to prove itself a solid choice; the not-so-uncommon Gyarados that are flying around enemy teams, notably Wake's and Cyrus', also make this an almost forced choice unless there is another good special attacker with Electric coverage in the squadron. As an Electric-type, Raichu is somewhat average: well-rounded stats, with only Defense being glaringly low, decent offensive on both ends, decent special bulk, good Speed and a not so bad movepool to pick from, which also includes Signal Beam for Platinum players; being a bit of a jack of all trades (at least by Electric standards) it's not specialised in anything, which makes it play a losing game against the likes of Electivire and Magnezone, though the upside of relatively early availability and versatility still make it an okay choice for most players. Important Matchups - Platinum = * Rival (Pastoria City): Very easy overall, just spam Thunderbolt and use something else for Roselia, or another Pokémon if you can't be bothered to stall it. Only Monferno's Mach Punch can deal any damage to Raichu before it goes down. The only danger here is Grotle's Razor Leaf, particularly in the event that it crits; avoid that Pokémon. You can Focus Blast it if you so choose, but the miss rate still exists and it won't be fun if it comes to be. * Gym #5 - Crasher Wake (Pastoria City, Water-type): Grill that fish with Thunderbolt! And use Grass Knot for Quagsire, obviously. It only has one special Ground move anyway, which is Mud Shot, and should not OHKO Raichu from full health. Mind the Floatzel: unless you're overlevelled and/or you have a Speed-boosting nature, it will hit you first with Crunch, and it can still hit first even if you outspeed it thanks to Aqua Jet; bear that in mind when deciding whether to fight it or not. * Cyrus (Celestic Town): Brick Break or Focus Blast for Sneasel, then Thunderbolt everything. If using Focus Blast for Sneasel, however, be aware that it could miss and its physical attacks are nothing to joke at, both STAB Ice Punch and critical Slash; Raichu might not take one of those. * Rival (Canalave City): Thunderbolt Staraptor and Floatzel/Empoleon. Mind Floatzel's Aqua Jet if at low health, as it hurts despite the low base power. Roserade and Torterra are better left to someone else; Signal Beam might help nail an already weakened Torterra, but won't come close to OHKOing it. Similarly, make sure you can one-shot Rapidash and Infernape before you consider actually attempting it, as both can deal serious damage to Raichu, Infernape especially. Heracross cannot be fought by Raichu whatsoever: it has high bulk and an over-the-top Attack for Raichu's frail physical Defense. * Gym #6 - Byron (Canalave City, Steel-type): * Commander Saturn (Lake Valor): * Commander Mars (Lake Verity): * Gym #7 - Candice (Snowpoint City, Ice-type): * Cyrus (Galactic HQ): * Commander Saturn (Galactic HQ): * Commander Mars and Commander Jupiter (Spear Pillar, double battle): * Cyrus (Distortion World): * Giratina (Distortion World): * Gym #8 - Volkner (Sunyshore City, Electric-type): * Rival (Pokémon League, pre-Elite Four): * Elite Four Aaron (Pokémon League, Bug-type): * Elite Four Bertha (Pokémon League, Ground-type): * Elite Four Flint (Pokémon League, Fire-type): * Elite Four Lucian (Pokémon League, Psychic-type): * Champion Cynthia (Pokémon League): * Post-Game: }} Moves When caught as Pichu, the initial moveset will be Tail Whip, Thunder Wave, Sweet Kiss and Nasty Plot; when caught as Pikachu, instead, it will usually have Thunder Wave, Quick Attack, Double Team, and either Tail Whip or Slam depending on whether it's lower or higher than level 21. Nasty Plot is the last move that Pichu learns naturally, at level 18, and arguably its only interesting one to keep in the long term. Unfortunately, training Pichu is also harder, due to its lack of directly offensive moves; you can, however, teach it Thunderbolt via TM without waiting for the level-up move, if you can grind enough money for the Veilstone Game Corner TM. Pikachu learns Thunderbolt at level 26, and that's where you could well think about evolving it, unless you're pressed to get a screen move or Thunder on it; its other level-up moves are nothing worth of mention: Feint at 29 and Agility at 34 are useless, Agility even more so since there's Thunder Wave, while Discharge at 37 is just the nerfed version of Thunderbolt. Light Screen itself can be learned at 42, but you will likely not want to keep your Pikachu a Pikachu for that long, as the risk of it dying will be very high and it's simply not worth it for a move that's also available via TM. The exact same considerations apply for Thunder, which comes at level 45. Raichu does not learn any moves by level, though it does get Thunderbolt via move relearner at level 1. TMs offer a much better pool of options to the otherwise meagre coverage that is typical of Electric-types. Charge Beam is a good alternative to Nasty Plot if you caught a Pikachu instead of a Pichu, and you still want to run a Special Attack-boosting set. Special coverage comes in the form of Grass Knot and Focus Blast; the former is very good, the latter may also be, but the accuracy is really unreliable. It gets better with the Wide Lens attached, but it's still a less than ideal 77%. If you're pressed for Fighting coverage, it is advised to use Brick Break instead. On the physical side, Dig is also a nice coverage option and offers Raichu the upper hand over other Electric-types. Platinum tutors don't have much to add to this line's options, though Raichu does get the somewhat useful Signal Beam, and may also benefit from learning Magnet Rise in a hypothetical Electric monolocke. Recommended moveset: Light Screen, Thunderbolt, Brick Break / Focus Blast, Grass Knot / Signal Beam Other Pichu's stats Pikachu's stats Raichu's stats * What Nature do I want? Mild is the best option, as it doesn't sacrifice either offensive stat, only Raichu's not really usable Defense. Lonely also works well for Brick Break carriers. Speed-lowering natures make Raichu sad, as its Speed is good, but becomes only better-than-average if nerfed. Neutral natures will also work. * At what point in the game should I be evolved? Right away. Dig up a Thunder Stone from the Underground and slap it onto your Pikachu, and grind Pichu's friendship levels before you do that if you do catch a Pichu. There's no point keeping Pikachu around for any longer than level 26 and just for Thunderbolt purposes, and all of the fights it's any useful in are past that level marker either way. * How good is the Pichu line in a Nuzlocke? Like many other Electric-types, it's a good Pokémon and has the upside of getting a better balanced offensive and a slightly wider movepool than most of its colleagues. The downside is that it's not particularly specialised at anything but spamming Thunderbolt, though that alone is a good job for the line. Reliable and solid overall, especially in Diamond and Pearl, where there are less Electric-type options available and Raichu doesn't have to compete with the likes of Jolteon for a spot on the team. * Weaknesses: Ground * Resistances: Flying, Steel, Electric * Immunities: None * Neutralities: Normal, Fighting, Poison, Rock, Bug, Ghost, Fire, Water, Grass, Psychic, Ice, Dragon, Dark, Fairy Category:Electric-Type Category:Sinnoh Category:Diamond/Pearl/Platinum